


This I Promise You

by Rakshi



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-04
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 21:58:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/288350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakshi/pseuds/Rakshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Sean and Elijah Christmas story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This I Promise You

Sean squinted through the glass of bubbling champagne. Twinkling, multi-colored lights were everywhere. The tree glowed with them. The windows and mantel were bordered. A shimmering, crystalline rainbow sparkled before his eyes as he viewed the scene through the golden liquid, and he felt a jolt of almost surreal gladness well up in his chest. Christmas always did this to him. And this Christmas party had been one of their finest.

He turned the glass toward the far corner of the room where he knew Elijah was sitting then lowered it to gaze at him. He was seated on the floor with Dom, Orlando, and a few other guests playing the ‘Return of the King’ game on Sean’s PlayStation3. Sean had set up a projector, and the game screen was huge against the family room wall.

The guests surrounding Elijah were screaming with laughter as he guided a near life-sized Frodo, trying desperately to save his counterpart from a passel of Orcs. He was adding his own sound effects to the game’s built in phrases, and Sean had to smile as a very loud, “Orc motherfucker!!” was heard above the music. Sean saw Elijah wince slightly and shoot a glance toward Christine.

Sean swiveled toward his wife who was perched on a couch with Mac’s date, chatting and smiling. She ignored the obscenities being spewed in the far corner of the room but Sean knew she’d heard. The corners of her mouth tightened as she quickly lifted her glass to her lips. Oh, yeah. She’d heard, all right.

He smiled again and raised his glass in her direction. She caught his motion and smiled back at him briefly before turning, once again, to her conversation.

“Feel odd?” A voice next to him murmured, and he turned to see his brother standing at his side, drinking a beer.

“No champers?” Sean asked him, grinning, as he casually toasted Mackenzie.

“Not all of us have your aristocratic taste,” Mackenzie told him dryly, lifting his beer glass in Sean’s direction. “And I say again… does it feel odd?”

“Does what feel odd?”

“Having them both in the same room.”

Sean considered this for a moment. “No.”

“No?” Mack echoed, sounding surprised.

“No,” Sean said firmly. “When they’re both in the same room, I’m not worrying about one of them being all right. I know they’re both safe.”

Mack smiled and patted Sean’s shoulder. “Figures. What are you giving Chris for Christmas?”

“A gold necklace from Tiffany and a leather organizer from Baccarat,” Sean told him distractedly, his gaze returning to Elijah. He lifted his glass again and looked at him through the bubbling, golden liquid. The prism of the glass blurred Elijah’s outline, and his animated movements as he played the game further distorted the image. But to Sean, the outline of his young lover’s body through the golden glow of the champagne was utterly compelling. He sighed and turned back to his brother.

“Nice gifts,” Mack told him. “The perfect combination. Gold for the wife and leather for the manager.”

Sean shot him a quick glance, but before he could speak Mackenzie cut him off. “What did you get Elijah?”

“Nothing yet,” Sean replied, shaking his head. “I can’t think of what to get him!” He sipped his champagne and watched as Elijah handed the controller to Dom and sipped his beer. Then, as if feeling Sean’s stare Elijah suddenly turned toward the two brothers and smiled.

Sean smiled back, feeling his breath catch at the sight of the beaming face and luminous eyes. Elijah flashed Sean a quick hand sign, before turning back to the game.

“Did he just sign ‘bullshit’ at you?” Mack asked, clearly astounded.

Sean laughed and poked Mack’s arm. “He just signed ‘I love you’, ya doofus.”

Mack glanced toward Chris and Sean scowled. “Stop that! If she’d seen him do it she wouldn’t have cared. She knows he and I love each other!”

Mack glanced slyly toward his older brother. “Yeah. She just doesn’t know how much!”

Sean’s scowl deepened, but Mack only snickered and nudged him in the ribs. “C’mon, dude. I was only kidding.”

Sean made no response.

“Where’s Pam?” Mack asked, tilting his head toward Elijah.

Sean stifled a sigh and shrugged, carefully controlling the expression on his face. “New York, I guess.”

Mack nodded. “Uh huh.”

“I gather she’s coming in tomorrow. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” Sean’s brother replied. “So, Elijah’s gift. You better buy him something… right?”

Sean turned to Mack shaking his head. “Yeah, but what? God, Mack, I don’t know what to give him. He doesn’t really want much. Or want for much, far as that goes.”

Sean’s eyes drifted over Mack’s shoulder to where the crowd gathered around the PlayStation3 was still laughing and throwing taunts at the players.

“Give him what he loves,” Mack said softly.

Sean nodded, then stared into space… considering. After a moment his face grimaced in frustration and he turned to his brother.

“I dunno, Mack. He loves music! You know that. But I wouldn’t know what to buy him. He’d hate everything I like, and I have no clue what new, hot music he would like. I mean, Jesus,” he growled, shaking his head, “he owns his own record label! How could any music I gave him compare with that?”

“Sean, you’re making this way too hard. You’re trying to figure it out in your head when the answer needs to come from your heart!”

Sean lifted his glass again, gazing at Elijah through the bubbles. The twinkling lights around him and the golden liquid seemed to surround Elijah with a luminous halo. “What he loves…” he murmured, then sighed.

“Yeah,” Mac repeated. “What he loves! How hard could that be?” He punched Sean’s arm playfully and walked away, heading in the direction of the game players.

Sean watched him go, his handsome face thoughtful, then, as if compelled, his eyes were drawn back to Elijah.

He was welcoming Mackenzie to the group huddled around the game console, smiling the smile that Sean loved. As he handed Mack a fresh beer his eyes swiveled toward Sean and the smile softened, becoming almost wistful as he gazed. Then, as if suddenly fearing he’d revealed too much, his eyes dropped and he reached for the game controller, wresting it from Dom’s hand.

’Why the look?’ Sean wondered. ’He seemed almost sad’

Making his mind up suddenly, he downed the rest of his champagne and walked quickly to Elijah’s side. “Can I have a minute?” he asked softly.

Elijah’s eyes locked with his and for a moment time stood still as Sean’s midriff achingly flamed and seemed to melt. Through the thudding of his heart, Sean was vaguely aware of Dom reaching to take the controller from Elijah’s unresisting hand. Recovering slightly, he took Elijah’s arm and led him to a quiet corner.

“What’s up?” Elijah asked. He reached automatically for his cigarettes then stopped in mid-gesture, as if suddenly remembering that Chris didn’t allow smoking in the house.

“You want to go outside?” Sean asked, nodding toward the sliding glass door that led to their patio.

Elijah shook his head. “Nah. No biggie. What’s up?”

“Well.. I was kinda wondering what you wanted for Christmas,” Sean told him, his hand still resting possessively on Elijah’s arm.

Elijah shrugged. “Nothing really.”

“C’mon,” Sean said softly, a note of pleading in his voice. “Don’t do that to me, Lij.”

“Sean, I honestly don’t want anything,” Elijah insisted. “Focus on your girls and what they want. Don’t worry about me. I doubt we’ll even see each other on Christmas.”

“Are you upset with me?”

“No! Of course not. I didn’t expect to see you on Christmas. I never see you on Christmas. Why would this year be different?”

“You’ll be at your mom’s… right?”

“Yeah. Pam and I are spending the night on Christmas Eve.” He gazed at Sean, his face carefully neutral, his voice level and emotionless. Yet Sean felt that something in his tone subtly challenged… as though the mention of Pam’s name had been a deliberate attempt to goad Sean. But… into what?

“I could try to get away,” Sean offered slowly. “Maybe after the girls open their gifts I could…”

“No,” Elijah said flatly. “Don’t do that. Chris would be pissed. It’s not necessary.”

“Lij…”

“Sean, it’s not worth the hassle it would create for you.”

The hand on Elijah’s arm tightened, pulling him slightly closer.

“Yes,” Sean hissed, his voice dropping. “It is worth it!”

Elijah silently shook his head.

“You’re worth it!”

Elijah drew in a deep breath and stared at his feet, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans as if trying to control what he did with them.

“Would – ,” Sean hesitated, then plunged ahead. “Would Pam mind if I came over Christmas day–and took you out for breakfast–or maybe brunch?”

The dark head lifted and a sweet smile touched Elijah’s face. “No. Why would she mind? She knows about us, Sean. I just don’t –,” he hesitated then sighed. “Look, I just don’t want to interfere. I don’t want to –,” he sighed again, “– get in the way.”

Sean took a quick glance behind him, then tightened his grip on Elijah’s arm and pulled him outside to a dark corner of the patio. From here none of the guests could see them and Sean quickly drew Elijah close, one arm tight around his waist.

“Listen to me,” Sean told him in a low, urgent voice. “You could never, ever be ‘in the way’. You don’t ever interfere. You are the center of my heart. Everything else in my life revolves around my love for you.”

Again, Elijah made no reply. For a moment his fist gripped the front of Sean’s sweater and he seemed to move into Sean’s embrace, melting against him as if yielding to some inner need. Then he stepped back and fumbled in the pocket of his jeans for his cigarettes. His fingers fanned the lighter twice before he got it to ignite, and he drew the smoke in deeply.

They stood close together as Elijah silently smoked, eyes drifting here and there, never resting on anything for long while Sean fought against the voice within himself, urging him to break the silence.

Finally Elijah’s eyes came to rest on Sean’s face. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. When he spoke, his voice was low and a bit hoarse. “It would mean a lot to me to see you on Christmas day, Sean. But it’s not something I could ever bring myself to ask for.”

“Not even as a Christmas gift?” Sean asked, smiling.

“No. Maybe especially not as a Christmas gift,” Elijah replied.

The noise from the party rose behind them and Sean glanced toward the sliding glass door. He took Elijah’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

“There’s no time to talk right now. This isn’t the proper place anyway. But, Elijah, I will see you Christmas day. This I promise you.”

Elijah made no response. But the face that Sean loved seemed to glow with sudden joy, the sapphire eyes were glistening with unshed tears. The golden glow which had surrounded him through Sean’s champagne glass seemed, now, to radiate from every part of him.

“We’ll talk more then,” Sean continued. “I have other promises to make–promises about our future.”

“Sean,” Elijah said, his voice choked with tears, “you don’t have to…”

“I know that,” Sean told him. “I want to.”

“I love you, Sean.”

“And I love you, Elijah.”

Elijah smiled and tugged on Sean’s hand, pulling him toward the door. “We should go in, babe. Chris will be hunting for us.”

Sean nodded. “One last thing,” he said, pulling Elijah to a halt. “I didn’t know what to give you for Christmas and Mack said to give you what you love. That’s what I’m going to do, Elijah. That is exactly what I’m going to do. On Christmas day… and every day.”

“Merry Christmas, Seanie.”

“Merry Christmas, baby.”


End file.
